Happy Meals
by derpette-Waffle
Summary: (modern AU) It's Valentine's Day and Thorin has special plans for a date night with Bilbo, but they have to also involve leaving little Frodo with his nephews.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is my first Hobbit fanfiction so I have my fingers crossed for quality. x

* * *

Thorin would've been more concerned if he'd arrived home from work and not found at least one of the boys in on the sofa. Stepping up to his front door, he could imagine himself calling Dis at work and asking if something had happened, himself worked up with worry because his nephews might be in trouble –or less likely, at their own house after school.

But it wasn't today nor any other day in years that he hadn't quickly caught one inside. This time it was just Fili he found on the couch, knees bent up with a thick textbook lying open between the legs and a bored face.

Fili didn't look up immediately when the door opened and heavy footsteps made their way inside; he was worried that if he looked way from his reading he wouldn't look back. "You're a little late, Uncle. Something keep you long?"

Thorin gave a nod he wouldn't see and gestured to the bouquet in his right hand, the chocolates in his left. "Where's your brother?" He was less a man who gave direct answers than demanded them.

Fili pointed a finger upward, and Thorin's eyes followed the broad staircase. As if on cue, he heard Kili sound as if he was talking to himself, sounding more distressed than usual. But Thorin largely ignored it; he had other matters that needed to be addressed. Flowers and candy still in hand, he marched into the living room to stare down at the older of the teens.

Fili took the time to finish the line he was reading before gratefully lending his gaze to something other than business ethics. He stared back up over the rim of his glasses, never one to be intimidated by a hard look.

"You two are watching Frodo tonight," Thorin informed him. As the words came out he felt satisfied with their finality; there would be no room for discussion, and one of the two of them would pass the words along to the younger one upstairs.

Fili tilted his head a bit in confusion, brow furrowing before it loosened when a knowing smile came to his lips. "How much of the night?" Thorin didn't seem to catch his meaning, so he reiterated, "Should we expect you and Bilbo back tonight or make him breakfast and send him off to school as well? We'd understand –it's Valentine's Night, after all, we'd just like to know in advance."

Thorin rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Bilbo will be here about six; you could probably expect us back by midnight." He had a few more words to say on the matter, but he'd wait until both of them were present.

"What's for dinner?" Fili asked absently, returning to the dreaded assigned reading.

Half the time Thorin would make something himself for all three of them (and his sister, if she came over), and the other half he'd send the boys home for the evening when they got too hungry to stay without a meal. Tonight would've been one of the latter nights if he didn't need them to stay to watch little Frodo. He sighed heavily. "There's dinners in the freezer –make sure you give Frodo the one with the chicken nuggets." It seemed silly, but he didn't allow his nephews to use the oven while he wasn't there, not after the Kitchen Incident. He was mostly worried for their safety, and the trouble that they seemed prone to, especially the younger. They were allowed to use the microwave but nothing else. "There's also snacks left over from the party on Sunday. And anything else you find is fair game for tonight."

Fili weighed the options of sustenance, and decided they were fair enough but not ideal. If he and Kili would be watching the five-year-old for the night, he'd at least like to give the boy a decent meal (preferably one the two teens didn't have to make themselves.) He was about to ask for pizza money when his younger brother came clomping down the stairs.

Kili was red-faced and visibly strained when Thorin saw him, but the scowl quickly turned to a broad grin when the boy caught sight of the flowers. "Aw, Uncle, you shouldn't have!" He jokingly went to take the gifts when they were shoved into his arms by a grumpy Thorin.

"Did you have plans for tonight?" he asked out of courtesy, finally taking his coat off.

Kili looked from the flowers and chocolate to Thorin. "I was gonna go out with Tauriel, but—"

Thorin shook his head and looked to the kitchen. He laid his coat on top of the things he'd already handed his nephew. "Hang that up and hide those under the counter, I need to go get ready." And he ran up the same way his nephew had just come down.

Kili was very confused and did as he was asked before joining his brother on the sofa. He frowned and nudged at the book and Fili's shoulder.

"Stop," his brother scolded, trying to keep his attention on the lines of tiny font.

"Everyone's so huffy with me tonight and I only just came down." Kili crossed his legs and went for the TV remote on the sofa arm Fili was propped up against. But (without looking but always knowing) Fili got it first and shoved it down between the sofa cushion and the arm, out of Kili's reach. When he insisted that he needed to study, it was Kili's turn to huff. "It's _Friday_, Fee. You don't need to be so intense about school on _Fridays_."

"I prefer to get work done early, even work I hate." And they both knew this and still had this conversation every Friday. "You'll be thanking me when I can take you to the concert next weekend –that I don't have to be doing homework when I should be taking you out for your birthday."

Kili smirked a little and played with the sleeve of his sweater. "And on my actual birthday?"

"I figured you'd have plans with Tauriel." Fili's eyes and most of his attention were back on his book until there was silence between them, and Fili remembered how Kili had been upstairs on the phone, probably with his girlfriend. He frowned and lifted his eyes up to look at his brother, reading his expression, and asked, "What was that about, on the phone?"

"She left right after school to go on vacation with her family." Kili wouldn't make eye contact, and Fili's frown deepened. It didn't sound like Tauriel to forget to tell him something like that.

"And you didn't know?"

"Oh, she told me. But she promised then that she could get out of it. She just called from her hotel to tell me she'd made it there safe –she figured I'd realize why she wasn't at school today."

"And you guys argued?"

"Not at first," he shrugged. "She said Thranduil wouldn't let her worm her way out because we already spent nearly all of summer break together, and he said it was time she start being more involved with her own family than her boyfriend. I mean, I understand that, I guess; Ma would probably say the same if I wasn't still so family-oriented. I was kinda upset cuz I was gonna take her out tonight. But then she just found out today that they're staying longer than she'd expected –so not only are we apart for Valentine's Day, but she's not gonna be back for two weeks, now. She says we'll celebrate my birthday when she gets back." He laughed a little, and Fili didn't really want to picture what kind of celebration the two had in mind.

"I think it kinda works out then, that you're suddenly free tonight." Fili pushed his glasses further up his nose and returned to his reading. "Uncle says we're watching Frodo while he and Bilbo go out –until midnight, he claims."

And the idea was difficult to get upset about now; no plans with his girlfriend, and Frodo was just so adorable that Kili was kind of looking forward to it. "We're the babysitters now?" But Fili was too into his reading to answer. So Kili played the role of annoying little brother and started bombarding the older brother with questions. Fili kept reading but when it got to be too much, he reached over to cover Kili's mouth with his hand.

"Yes, we're the babysitters. Uncle says they should be here about six. We're having frozen meals for dinner, but no, not the good kind. There's snacks in the pantry but the chips are probably stale by now. And I'd love to hear about your awful day at school but _not right now_."

He only pulled his hand away when Kili licked his palm, wiped it on his brother's arm, and they both laughed a bit before falling into silence.

* * *

Thorin had never needed to be this nervous before, probably because there wasn't only one source of the stress to worry about. Normally when he faced challenges, they seemed to come one at a time –mostly business related, and more often than not deriving from Thranduil being a smug son of a bitch. The jewelry business itself was rather cutthroat, but besides his rival-borderline-nemesis, it was nothing a strong-willed and confident man like Thorin Oakenshield couldn't handle.

And work was often the biggest bane of his nerves. He was close with his family –both what remained of his more immediate family (his sister and her boys), and cousins and friends he regarded as close as well— and led a happy existence. He and Bilbo had been together for six years now and maintained a respectably comfortable relationship –it was a proper love between independent adults but they would never admit just how much they needed each other. If Thorin weren't so proud, he'd have proposed long ago.

But lately Thorin had realized something –first only in passing, and then head on.

It first occurred to him just over a year ago. He'd been getting ready for a date with the man and the world around him was going on much like it was tonight. He'd been well dressed as ever and planned to take Bilbo for a fancy meal –he wasn't much for such a thing, but it appealed to Bilbo's classic tastes enough that it was more than worth the bill.

Frodo had been left with his usual sitter, so only Bilbo was on his way over, but that seemed the only difference that he could recall. His nephews had been over as they always were; Fili doing schoolwork (even then he knew the boy's course load was heavy), and, without his brother to keep an eye on him, Kili was trying to keep himself out of the trouble that tended to follow him. Bilbo arrived and rang the doorbell and Thorin was just making his way down to greet him.

Before he turned the corner to go downstairs, though, it seemed Kili had made it to the door before he did, because the next thing he heard was the teen's cheerful tone: "Uncle Boggins, glad you made it!"

Thorin hardly heard the way Bilbo huffed and scolded the boy without much will behind it, or how Kili just laughed and went on teasing him until he retreated. He was more focused on how his own nephew had just called someone besides himself his uncle. It might not have been the first time, but it was the first time Thorin had heard it. He wondered if the brothers considered Bilbo family as much as their blood relations –and when he thought on it, it didn't surprise him.

But when he did go downstairs and saw Bilbo looking so smartly dressed, those thoughts were replaced by new ones of his boyfriend.

The next time was the time that it really hit him. Thorin and Bilbo had taken little Frodo to the water park for his birthday. The day had gone great; though Thorin had never been a fan of water slides or wading pools (the tide only came to his knees, mid-thigh at the deepest), or really getting wet in general, Frodo had smiled and laughed the whole day away and it made both Bilbo and Thorin smile wide at the little one's happiness.

They'd gotten several looks from other parents throughout the day: mostly harmless, watching as if trying to gauge the nature of the unit of the two men and the little boy with them. They seemed to suspect Frodo was their son, but no one asked until a little girl that Frodo had been splashing around with came up to them.

She stared at the men and asked in a sweet voice, "Are you Frodo's daddies?"

The girl's mother scolded her and apologized, Bilbo said it was no problem but clarified that he was Frodo's uncle and that Thorin was his boyfriend. But, like at the top of the stairs that first time, Thorin paid attention to none of it. He'd never thought of the three of them as a proper family unit –family was important to Thorin but such a tangled and indefinable concept. Plenty of people in his life he considered family, but he'd never thought of himself and Bilbo and Frodo as a proper nuclear family. But now that he did, he couldn't let the idea go.

Frodo had all but fallen asleep in Bilbo's arms on the way back to the parking lot. Thorin was lagging a bit behind, lost in thought even an hour later, but still tried to keep up. When they reached the lot, Bilbo handed the little boy off to him, and Thorin took the child very comfortably. Frodo almost felt right against his side and shoulder.

"You stay here with Uncle Thorin," Bilbo quietly instructed the dozing child. "I'm gonna go get the car."

Thorin's mouth hung agape while Bilbo walked away, and he turned his head slightly to the child to whisper, "Do you really call me that? You call me 'Uncle Thorin?'" But Frodo was already asleep.

Thorin stood now, on the most romantic night of the year, in front of the mirror. He was dressed in a gray suit with a blood red tie which he had to straighten again. The velvet box enclosing a diamond encrusted ring sat heavily in his inner pocket.

Tonight's the night, he told himself, trembling in his reflection. The night you take the first step toward making your little family unit a proper one.


	2. Chapter 2

Bilbo had gone to work in a simple shirt and vest and slacks, but it could not be mistaken as casual wear with the shoes he had on. He'd gotten looks and questions from coworkers and patrons of the library, and he'd answered them plainly, a lilt of excitement in his voice. He and Thorin had been vague in their discussion on the phone that afternoon; he expected his boyfriend had everything planned out already, and he oozed with anticipation.

He went right from work to the elementary school cafeteria, where Frodo sat at a long table, coloring quietly. He smiled brightly at his uncle's arrival and ran to him with a paper flopping around in his hand as he did. Bilbo pulled him into a hug and thanked the program attendant for watching him. Frodo was never the first or last child to leave with a parent or guardian, but though he'd play with his friends when they were there, as the crowd wittled down to the remaining few, Frodo dove more and more into his coloring.

"Look what I drew, Uncle Bilbo!" And he shoved the paper so close to Bilbo's face in his excitement that he had to lean back to get a proper look at it. It seemed a mess of gray and green squiggles, but Bilbo's eyes lit with recognition for his nephew's sake. "That's a great elephant you drew, Frodo!" And the boy giggled as he was picked up. Bilbo took the child's bookbag in his other hand (the art supplies belonged to the afterschool program) and carried them both out to the car.

When they pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the opposite direction of their house, Frodo grinned and sat back in his seat. "We going to Uncle Thorin?" he asked, knowing.

Bilbo's smile mirrored his nephew in the rear-view mirror. "You're gonna stay at his house for a while. You know it's Valentine's Day?"

He nodded. "Teacher gave us red and pink and white paper and glue and scissors and glitter told the girls to make cards for their daddies and the boys for their mommies." He seemed almost breathless after the long sentence and no pauses.

Bilbo's smile faded a little. "And what about the kids who aren't gonna see their mommies or daddies today?" He hated to bring the matter up, but Frodo seemed unaffected.

"I asked that! Teacher said we should make cards for whoever we want. I made one for you!" He gasped suddenly. "What about Uncle Thorin? I didn't make him one!"

Bilbo laughed softly. "Uncle Thorin will understand; he didn't know he was gonna see you today, and you didn't know, either! How would you have gotten it to him tonight if we weren't going over?"

Frodo didn't answer; he still looked guilty, but satisfied with the response. There was a long silence before he asked who was gonna be watching him while they were gone if the babysitter was out of town.

"Fili and Kili are gonna watch you." And Frodo smiled a little. The little boy liked the two, and Bilbo could trust them enough to leave him with Thorin's nephews for a little while. (Granted, he might've preferred someone more qualified to watch the child, but maybe he was being overprotective. He figured he could trust the boys not to screw up in just a few hours with the child.)

* * *

By the time the doorbell rang, Thorin was still upstairs anxiously getting ready, his plans and apprehension unknown to his two nephews, who'd seen him for at most ten minutes today. Fili finished his reading, finally, and decided to put the rest of his work off until tomorrow so the babysitting wouldn't cut an assignment in the middle. His brother was right, he did have time.

He looked from his bookbag to the TV, and then at Kili sitting next to him. His little brother seemed engrossed in the latest Kardashian scandal, but it was more a placeholder between texts to and from his girlfriend. Fili chuckled at how the teen would obsessively check his phone every couple of seconds, bringing it up in front of his face before lowering it to watch the trashy TV program.

At last Kili got the text he'd been dreading: 'have to put my phone away now ugh. will try to text again before bed but don't let me distract you from your little cousin! love you x'

He let his head fall back against the cushions, a groaning sigh slipping out before his brother nudged his shoulder. "She's gotta go now."

"You're obsessed."

"I'm in love!" He rolled a little. "I'm young and in love, Fee. And I miss my girl."

"After one day?"

He nodded firmly. "After one day." And the look in his eyes was so set and so ready for a challenge that Fili didn't bother.

Their uncle's heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, slowly, as if he were measuring each step to be exactly like the one before it. Thorin moved to the living room and stood in front of the TV. He held his arms out to his side, as if in defeat, like however he'd tried he couldn't seem to look right and needed validation. "How do I look?"

"You look like those red carpet studs on the screen behind you." Kili tried looking around Thorin to see what was going on, but Thorin glared and turned to shut the thing off.

"How do I look now without those dicks behind me?"

Kili was taken aback by the harsh words said in a cracking voice and averted his eyes, mumbling that Thorin looked great, which Fili was quick to agree on in his peacekeeping way.

"You do look great, Uncle, perfect for a romantic night out. Bilbo's a lucky man that you put so much effort into looking good for him."

"Do I not look good every day?" he asked snappishly, turning his glare on the older nephew, he gave him a much more reprimanding and even stare than his brother had. At length Thorin was the one who had to look away. "I'm sorry for being so volatile, I'm just… really nervous about tonight," though he wouldn't tell them why.

"Think of it like any other nice date you've taken him on. Relax and you'll do great."

He sighed. "He'll worry about Frodo. You both need to ease his nerves, don't give him reason to be concerned."

"Bilbo trusts us, doesn't he?" Kili quipped from where he sat, curled up and his phone balanced on his knees. Fili thought he was probably waiting on another text from Tauriel and he rolled his eyes.

"Bilbo does trust you, but you know how protective he is of Frodo. He'll lay the ground rules for how to take care of him, and if there's anything to add I'll say it, so you're better off taking notes –especially you." He indicated Kili, who looked offended but understanding. "You boys know the rules about staying in my house, and tonight would be the wrong night to break any of them." He trailed off and sighed heavily, before continuing quietly as if it were a secret. "And if anything happens where Frodo didn't get hurt or anything, but you boys still need help, I'd rather you bother your mother than Bilbo."

Fili laughed softly at that. "I think she'd be good at wrangling him if he gets to be too much."

"Worked on you two." Even when it came to physically controlling the boys when they were little, just for restraint, Dis always did a better job than Thorin ever could. "Speaking of which, just a note, do not let Frodo have any sugar before bed. He'll be up all night and Bilbo doesn't need that. We'll expect him to be asleep when we get back, are we clear?"

"All clear, Uncle!"

"Good… They should be here soon." He turned and watched the door anxiously. When he stepped away Fili started digging for the remote he'd hid away, and turned the TV back on. Thorin stood at the large front window, watching from the edge so he might see Bilbo arrive before Bilbo saw him.

The woods on the Oakenshield property were very snowy this time of year, a blanket of white broken up by tall brown stalks of coniferous trees, pine needles holding up white sheets of their own. It had snowed last night, but the driveway was plowed well and Bilbo had no problem riding up to the home. "He's here."

The brothers had heard him but did not move from their spots on the sofa. Thorin huffed and swore the cushions had been worn thin by their weight, before clomping into the kitchen.

The doorbell rang. It was then that the blond and brunet moved from their seats and went to the door. Fili peeked through the peephole and saw Bilbo there, well-dressed, Frodo on his hip.

"He looks sharp, Uncle!" Fili grinned and headed to join Thorin in the kitchen. Kili eagerly welcomed them in.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Uncle Boggins!" he laughed. "You look well."

Bilbo smiled stiffly, still getting used to the familiar greeting, and thanked him. He looked around and pushed two bags of McDonald's into the boy's hands. Fili rejoined them in the entry hall. "Where's your uncle?"

"In the kitchen, waiting for you." Both the teens smiled at Frodo, who smiled back and shyly hid in his uncle's shoulder. Fili caught sight of the fast food bags. "Dinner?"

"Frodo was hungry, and I wasn't sure what you had over here." He gestured to one of the bags. "He has a happy meal; I got you both burgers and fries."

"Aw, I wanted the Happy Meal," Kili mock-whined, and Frodo giggled and told him he couldn't have it, he was too big.

"You've gotten bigger since we saw you last week!" Fili observed with exaggerated excitement. When Bilbo set Frodo down, both got down to his level, talking about how tall he was getting and how handsome he looked in his new sweater. Bilbo couldn't help but smile and went to find Thorin.

Thorin was standing behind the breakfast bar, a bouquet of obnoxiously yellow daisies and a small box of chocolates in his hands. He kicked himself for not going to get anything before the rush, but he hadn't been able to get away until after work. Thankfully, the flowers weren't wilted so much as ugly, and the chocolate was probably decent. He held them out with stiff arms. "These are for you."

Bilbo grinned and took them. "You didn't need to…"

"I wanted to. It's Valentine's Day, after all, and I'm taking you out. That wouldn't be complete without flowers and chocolates. I'm just sorry I couldn't get better in time."

"I think they're lovely." Thorin could swear he was lying until, "Anything from you is always lovely." And he let out a small sigh of relief. Even if the gifts weren't fantastic, at least Bilbo appreciated his effort.

Their nephews joined them a moment later, Frodo balanced on Kili's hip, to Thorin's slight annoyance.

"You two gonna stand around and talk," Fili asked, "or go get on with your date night?"

"We should get going," Bilbo agreed. He looked to little Frodo, who was giggling at something Kili had said to him. "I'm trusting you boys to watch him. Don't let me down?"

They both shook their heads and in unison answered, "We won't!"

So Bilbo laid down few but strict rules for the teens regarding Frodo. Fili took his uncle's advice and jotted notes down in his phone –bedtime was at eight-thirty sharp, he wasn't to be allowed upstairs by himself, he could only watch G-rated films, etc.— and made mental notes as well. Kili would've done the same if not for the child clinging to his shoulder. Thorin eyed them both; he trusted them, but with Frodo he worried.

"You better get going if you're gonna make your reservation!" Fili insisted, all but pushing both men out the door. Kili and Frodo both waved goodbye and with some nervous protest from Bilbo, the couple was out.


	3. Chapter 3

Thorin's knuckles went white as he gripped the steering wheel and drove them through the town. Every once in a while he'd pull his eyes from the road, just for a second, to look at Bilbo. The shorter man was gazing out the window, eyebrows pulled tight together. Thorin sighed and faced front again; he'd been like this since they first pulled away from the house.

"Maybe I should just call and see if—"

"We only left fifteen minutes ago." He reached over and gently coaxed Bilbo's hand away from his phone. "I know you're worried but there's no way even they could get into trouble in that short a time."

This seemed to do nothing to comfort Bilbo, who just sat stiffly upright in the passenger seat, gripping and releasing his legs in varying intervals and running his palms over his suit pants.

Thorin tried again. "They'll call if anything happens. I trust that much."

"Do you trust them to watch Frodo?"

An answer caught in his throat and he swallowed around it. "I trust that my house has been proofed so Frodo couldn't get into any trouble even if he was left alone. And I know my nephews care much about your and wouldn't let anything happen to him.

Bilbo didn't miss how he'd tiptoed around his question, and again, he had not been put at ease.

When they arrived at the fancy seafood restaurant, Bilbo had not forgotten his worries, but he did put them on the backburner so he could enjoy their night together. The opportunity for a date night came only once in a blue moon for the two of them, and though he was anxious over Frodo being left with the boys, he was too happy to have this chance to allow his nerves to ruin it.

He got out of the car and walked a decent way to the door –the parking lot was packed with clean new vehicles, everyone out for a night like they were. Thorin was just inside the door, speaking to a young uniformed woman standing behind a decorated podium. As he approached, he could feel the heated air coming off the other man before he heard him speak.

"I'm certain I made the reservation for seven!"

Thorin was struggling not to lose his temper with the poor hostess. She checked over the list of names, times, tables again for the couple in front of her, but however many times she checked there was no seven o'clock reservation for Oakenshield to be found. There was nothing she could do, and he knew it, but if he didn't want this night to be ruined for Bilbo he'd need to fight for his table.

"How much to buy out someone's reservation?" he demanded, glaring into the poor girl's eyes.

Bilbo frowned, watching his boyfriend to make sure he didn't take it too far and scare the young lady. He felt bad for her, honestly: this was already a hectic night for restaurant staff and the last thing anyone needed was to deal with a large man's short temper.

And when the hostess could provide no answer besides a bit of stammering, Bilbo felt the need to interject. "Thorin, come on, there must have been a mistake. You can imagine how many reservations a place like this gets on Valentine's Day –it's really not a big deal, we can just go somewhere else."

But in his state, Thorin wasn't satisfied by Bilbo's rational suggestion. The hostess must've sensed as much, because she started flipping through the reservation slots with quick fingers. "The next opening is at ten," she offered in a small voice. "We can put you down for then if you'd like."

"Are you sure you'll get it right this—"

"Ten would be lovely, thank you." Bilbo felt a bit proud of himself: he had managed to settle the matter without much fuss, and though he was mildly annoyed with Thorin's behavior, he couldn't miss the wide look in the deep-set eyes, and led him away with a quiet thanks to the poor girl.

He got them both back into the car, Thorin huffing in frustration but not exploding in like he could've. This wasn't supposed to happen. Tonight was supposed to be perfect, it needed to be perfect.

Bilbo sat next to him, huffing as well, but in a sort of relief. "That could've gone better," he admitted, not fastening himself in. "But it could've also been much worse." He gave him an encouraging smile, trying to bring him to the sort of optimism he was forcing himself to feel. Thorin returned it halfheartedly, and Bilbo accepted it.

"We have three hours now," Bilbo reckoned. "Plenty of time to do whatever we want."

Having had a chance to calm down from the change of plan, Thorin nodded thoughtfully. "Did you eat anything?" Bilbo liked to keep a steady timetable of meals, and he probably hadn't eaten since lunch at noon. He wouldn't make it to dinner at ten on an empty stomach. "We should eat something," Thorin sighed. "At least something light."

"Why don't we go see a movie?" Bilbo suggested with a shrug. "Romantic, isn't it?"

"Depends on what we go see," Thorin smirked.

"Well, there have got to be Valentine's-themed ones out right now. And if something starts soon, we can see it and get back in time for our new reservation. And if we're hungry there are snacks at the theater. I think I could go for some popcorn myself."

Thorin laughed softly and put the car in gear, ready to go on his lover's little adventure.

"I'm just gonna call the boys," and when Thorin shot him a look intended to shut the idea out of his head, Bilbo was quick to excuse, "just to let them know we won't be at the restaurant, and may run later into the night."

And even though it wasn't what he meant, Thorin kinda smiled at the thought of running into the night with his Bilbo.

* * *

"Hello?"

"How's Frodo doing?"

Fili paused a beat and laughed. "About the same as when you left, less than an hour ago."

There was a sigh of relief heard over the phone. "What's he doing?"

"You know, I said 'hello,' I don't think it's too much I expect something like that back." When Bilbo repeated his last question, his tone was firm and unwavering, and left no more room for snark on the teen's end. "We're just eating dinner, he wasn't hungry until, like, five minutes ago."

"Did he get the toy he wanted?"

He laughed again and leaned against the wall. "Yeah, a little airplane. He's flying it all around."

"Don't let him actually throw it, he might break something expensive."

"We won't."

"Listen, the reservation at the restaurant didn't check out, so we're not going over there until ten. We might be a little later tonight than expected."

Fili rubbed at the back of his neck. He'd been hoping to actually sleep tonight, and this plan had already been pretty inconvenient for that idea when they were supposed to be home around midnight to relieve the brothers of their babysitting duties. "Uh, that should be fine, yeah. You two have fun."

"Thanks, I think we will. Say hi to Frodo for me, and remember –bed at eighty-thirty."

"I remember. Bye, Bilbo."

Fili stuffed his phone back in his pocket and headed back to the living room. Frodo was sat cross-legged and hunched forward watching 'The Lion King' on the large television, discarded cardboard and plastic from his Happy Meal littered around him. The teen smiled at the sight and went to ruffle the mess of brown curls.

"Stop!" Frodo protested with a giggle, hands coming up to cover his head but eyes still focused on the colorfully glowing screen.

The young man smiled and let him be for now. He plopped down next to his brother on the sofa, both of them sinking into the cushions; he reached the short distance next to him to pluck a few fries from the box, which was met by a high-pitched whine of protest but nothing more.

"Bilbo's worried already?" They had to speak quietly or Frodo would get quickly irritated and hush them loudly.

"He says they're reservation got mixed up. They'll be back later than they thought."

"Well, 'The Lion King' isn't gonna last him all night."

"Does Uncle have the sequel?"

Kili laughed and shook his head with a "probably not. We'll just have to keep him occupied." He finished his fries and watched Frodo for a moment. "Hey, Fro, sit back a little."

"SHH! This is the best part!" The wildebeest stampede was in its most intense moments on the screen, and the little boy was entirely engrossed in the suspense. He'd seen the movie several times but every viewing was as gripping as the first. Nevertheless, he did scoot back a little on the rug, but was annoyed to find a pair of sneakers suddenly resting on his shoulders. "Hey, no!" he laughed, still watching the screen and crawling forward again.

"Aw, Frodo, that's no fun!" The younger of the babysitters sank even deeper into the sofa to extend his legs out further, trying to retrieve the child on the floor. "Be a good footrest and c'mere!"

"I'll tell Uncle Thorin!"

"Go ahead, he'll think it's funny! Little boys are the perfect height for putting your feet up after a long day." But another scoot forward and he fell off the couch with an oof and a thud. When Fili was sure he hadn't accidentally kicked their charge in the back by accident he let out a loud laugh at his little brother's expense.

Frodo huffed and paused the movie to see what happened, and giggled when he found Kili, on the floor bent at an awkward angle, pouting at the laughing little boy.

"I think that's called karma," Fili laughed, moving more gracefully off the couch to join the two on the floor.

Frodo had pressed play on the movie again and they watched it for a few minutes in silence. But when the stampede subsided and it came to the scene of Simba finding Mufasa's body, Fili reached for the remote and turned it off. And when Frodo complained and asked why he did that, he swallowed around a lump in his throat and forced out a laugh. "Why don't we watch something a little more Valentine's-appropriate." He looked to his brother to back him up; Kili had been looking at his phone and not at the TV when it started coming to that part. Fili was a little envious and relieved at his sense at the same time.

Frodo wanted to watch the rest of the movie, but he didn't protest aside from a soft whine. He turned to face his sitters. "What we gonna watch?" he asked, watching them with large robin's egg eyes.

"Why don't you look through the DVD collection and find something," Kili suggested, still watching his phone and moving to stand. "I have a fun activity for us to do while we watch. Find what you wanna watch that's maybe more fitting for Valentine's Day, but don't put it on until we get back." He patted his brother's shoulder and half-tugged him to his feet.

Frodo nodded and went into the cabinet, and the boys headed down the hall. Fili was watching the other in confusion about his intentions. They passed by the stairway and through the kitchen, coming to the door heading down into the basement. He followed Kili down the stairs, two sets of footsteps clomping to an off rhythm.

"So, what's this activity you've come up with?"

"Are you alright?"

Fili was taken aback when his question wasn't just left unanswered, by responded to with another question. "What do you mean?" He laughed forcefully at the situation.

"I mean with that scene and everything." Kili leaned against a load-bearing pillar and watched his brother carefully. "I know it gets you worked up. Sorry, I would've had him turn it off—"

"Hey, no, I'm fine. I… guess I've seen it enough now; or just got over it. I don't know –but I'm fine, I promise." He smiled a little and patted his arm. "Thanks for the concern, but it's…" He shrugged and couldn't find more words on the matter.

Kili honestly didn't believe him, but there was no point in trying to dig the truth out of him. He eyed him cautiously and nodded, and turned to the back of the basement.

"So, what is your plan?"

"Hold on."

Fili peeked around the corner but couldn't see what he was doing, and couldn't get his legs to move him deeper into the storage room. But Kili returned a minute later with an armful of construction paper and his free arm balancing a plastic bin of art supplies. "There's more back there, if you wanna get it, but I think this is enough."


	4. Chapter 4

They got the craft supplies back up the stairs and joined a curious and antsy Frodo. He had the DVD case of _The Little Mermaid_ in his little hands; Fili saw it and thought it was a much better choice for today's theme than the last movie had been. "Ready, little buddy?"

Frodo nodded his little head enthusiastically and stared at the art supplies. "Are we doing crafts?" he asked, bouncing a bit on his bottom.

"That we are!" Kili set the supplies down on the coffee table and his brother followed suit. "Since it's Valentine's Day we're gonna surprise Uncle Bilbo and Uncle Thorin with cards, and we'll make them ourselves."

Frodo giggled at the idea. "I already made for Uncle Bilbo! We did cards at school!"

Fili gave the child a comically exaggerated pout. "Well, we can make more! I think Bilbo deserves more than one card, don't you think? I think he could do with two from you, and we'll make some for him, too."

"Did you make for Uncle Thorin, Frodo?"

Frodo put on a sad face and shook his head, staring down at the DVD in his lap. "Teacher only gave us enough supplies to make one card each. Boys had to make for their mommies and girls had to make for their daddies."

Fili frowned at the idea that it would be divided like that. "That's what the teacher told your class? Boys for mommies and girls for daddies?"

Frodo nodded back at him. "And when I said I didn't have a mommy or a daddy she said to make one for who takes care of me. That means Uncle Bilbo!"

Fili nodded, satisfied but still uneasy with how the teacher would have them make cards, but only one each, and for a specific parent depending on the child's gender. But there was no point in arguing it to the kindergartener they were watching tonight, and it was best to move on. He turned to his brother to see Kili was spreading the supplies across the table.

"Ready to make the cards, Fro?"

Frodo nodded wildly and put the movie down, and moved to kneel in front of the coffee table. He put his elbows up on the surface but in his position the table came almost up to his chin. He smiled a toothy little smile at them and they both smiled back for him. "Did you guys make cards for your mommy at school today?"

The older of the teens laughed quietly and shook his head, picking out a piece of red construction paper. "My school's quite a bit different from yours, and not as fun. We just spent the day learning."

"Big kid stuff?"

"Grown up stuff," he smirked, grabbing one of the pairs of child friendly scissors. They were too small for his thick fingers but he made do with them, carving a clumsy heart shape. He was never much of an artist but he didn't let it deter him from enjoying such things, either. "Boring grown up stuff. I'd much rather be in your class."

Frodo nodded with a serious look on his face, and dug into pack of markers. "We usually learn letters and numbers. I can count to a hundred but no one else in my class can!"

"Very good!" Kili joined in, cutting a piece of pink paper out of view. The small pairs of scissors were no easier on his own hands than his brother's but neither said anything. If they brought out the adult pairs, they knew, Frodo would try to use those himself, and that wasn't an option. "When I was your age I could maybe count to fifty, but definitely not a hundred."

"Did _you _make cards in class?" Frodo knew the two went to different schools so maybe the big-but-not-so-big kids were making Valentine's cards for their parents.

"No, I had tests today." He bit his tongue and forced the scissors to cooperate in turning a corner. "Math and science, not my strong suits –and_ someone_ had no time to help me study."

Fili responded with a hard nudge to the younger brother's shoulder; he couldn't help but give a short laugh when that was all he got for his efforts. "You waited until the last minute to ask and I was busy. Then you huffed and stormed off to bother your girlfriend about it."

Frodo giggled. "You have a girlfriend?"

Kili smirked and nudged the child across the table. "Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Don't kiss her! You'll get cooties!"

"Oh, don't worry, I got my cootie shot. You'll get yours in a few years, too, don't worry. But you'll have to ask your uncle to take you to get it."

Frodo nodded seriously and continued on with his card. "I'm making this for Uncle Thorin."

"Do we get one too?" Fili asked, rubbing a glue stick over his poorly constructed card.

But Frodo wasn't sure. He looked over the table to see how much paper there was left. "Is there enough for more?"

"If there isn't, don't worry, there's more paper downstairs."

"Unless you don't wanna make ones for us."

"I do!" Frodo insisted, not wanting to make them upset by not making cards. "You guys are nice. I'll make Valentine's for you." He went to working faster on his card for Thorin so he could make more. He took a black marker and drew a heart on the paper that had already been cut into that exact shape. There was a tube of glitter glue and he went right for it.

"Having fun there, Frodo?" Fili had glued the heart shape to a folded white piece for the card. Kili seemed to be working in secret.

But Frodo was too busy to answer. He wanted to get this just right, and was putting so much attention into making the card that he didn't notice how he got the glitter glue everywhere, though, including on the coffee table.

"Frodo—!" But it was too late; the mess was made.

The boy realized what he'd done and stared with big blue eyes at his babysitters. "I-I'm sorry!" He started to tear up when he thought about what trouble he'd been in. Uncle Bilbo always stressed the need to behave at Uncle Thorin's house and making a mess of glitter glue on the shiny table was a very bad thing he'd done there.

"No, buddy, it's okay." Fili tried his best to comfort the little one and ward off tears, because if Frodo started crying he had no idea what he could do then. It had been a while since he'd dealt with any upset children and he'd rather avoid it then face it head on. "Nobody's mad at you. We'll clean it up, don't worry." His brother had already jogged off to get paper towels. Fili moved closer to Frodo and rubbed his back in a helpless attempt to soothe his quiet sobs.

"U-Uncle Bilbo said—"

"Uncle Bilbo's not gonna be mad, you hear me? He won't even find out. We'll get it cleaned up and Uncle Bilbo and Uncle Thorin will never know." He wasn't sure he'd ever referred to Bilbo as such so often before, but though it was for Frodo's sake, it didn't feel very weird to say. Kili had been calling Bilbo "Uncle Boggins" for a while now but that's because Kili's a brat. Fili could maybe start calling Bilbo his Uncle because he kind of was, at this point –but only if Bilbo was okay with it, of course. He kept rubbing between the child's shoulders, and Frodo started to calm down. "Better?"

Lost in his thoughts the young man hadn't noticed that his brother had returned with a wet paper towel and had cleaned away the glitter glue already. But when it refused to come off entirely he switched seats with Frodo ("You can watch the movie better from there.") and started making the card over the table to hide the spot.

Fili took a peek at the Valentine's card his brother was working so attentively on, and a grin slowly dawned on his bright face when he realized who it was for. "I thought we were making cards for Ma and Uncle Thorin –maybe even Uncle Bilbo— but it seems you have someone else in mind."

"Shut up," the younger one mumbled, gnawing at his tongue in concentration. It was his turn with the glitter glue and he struggled to be precise with it.

Fili chuckled and turned to Frodo to whisper, quite loudly, "It's for his girlfriend."

Frodo giggled a little at that but didn't seem surprised. "Well, today's about love! Are you and your girlfriend in love, Kili?"

He nodded absently, still working on the card and struggling to quell his frustration to keep his language PG with a small child present. "Yeah, yeah, we are. Uncle hates it, honestly, but we've been together a while and I really like her— love her, a lot." He couldn't help the fond smile tugging at his lips whenever he thought of Tauriel.

Fili pretended to gag and Frodo got back to work on his card. "Can I meet her?"

"Maybe when she gets back. She's away with family right now, but I'm sure she'd love to meet you. I told her all about you, actually."

"You did?" But the question came from his brother.

Kili looked up to stare at him for a beat before replying. "Yeah. With all the time we spend just talking family comes up a whole lot. I've told her all about you, too." He winked and laughed a little before returning to his work.

Fili snorted and got back to his own card, the one he was making for his mother. "I can only imagine what you've told her, but at least she's met me and can decide what of your tales to believe or disbelieve."

His brother feigned hurt. "You think I would lie about you, big brother? I've only told her the best things. And she thinks how you sleep with a stuffed lion is endearing."

"You're bluffing."

"What if I'm not?"

"I'll push your face into the carpet until you confess."

"Now _you're_ bluffing, Fee."

And he couldn't deny that, not entirely. He'd wrestle his brother to the ground and probably sit on him, but it wouldn't come down to actually hurting him. Still, the thought of anyone else knowing that little detail of his life was a bit mortifying. "I still think you're bluffing. Besides, I've got more dirt on you than you could dig yourself out of."

"She already loves me, and nothing you could tell her would change that."

Fili laughed a little as all his brothers secrets came to mind. "Might still be fun—"

"I haven't told her anything," Kili admitted at last, putting the finishing touches on Tauriel's card, the one she'd receive much too late. "And she thinks of you as a brother, she wouldn't care."

He was taken aback by the comment more than he was satisfied by the relenting. "She does?"

"She does indeed." He held the card up and examined it with a proud smile. "Think she'll like it?"

He nodded absently, brow furrowed in thought. He looked to Frodo a moment and saw he was finishing a second card –he didn't know who for— before turning back to Kili. "She, say, loves me like a brother or thinks of me like a brother?" He tried to telepathically urge him to think hard about it, and the way the other stared into space for a moment could've implied the message had gotten across.

"We… talked about it recently. I asked if she would mind me inviting you along for pizza and bowling –cuz you had a bad day and stuff. And she said she didn't mind, it'd be just like going out with family."

"And what does that mean?"

He shrugged, unsure why Fili was even asking. "I don't know. That we're cool to all hang out together? That she doesn't mind it not being a date so you can come along?"

He laughed a little, awkwardness dissipating slightly. "Pizza and bowling is hardly a date, Kee –but that's not the point."

Kili lolled his head back a little, annoyed with how he didn't know where this conversation was heading. "What's the point, then? Why are we talking about this?"

"Is she thinking about, y'know… the future or something?"

"Huh?"

"'Going out with family?' I mean, that's quite a thing to say."

Finally he caught on and sat up straighter, shaking his head but a blush coming to his face. "You're being ridiculous, it's not—"

"She's already thinking of me like a brother-in-law. You said so yourself!" he laughed.

"I didn't say _that_!"

"But she thinks of me like a brother?"

"… She does."

Fili laughed a little more –it slipped out no matter how he tried to suppress it, his brother's face was too priceless right now. He could only speak again when the bright red mug was hidden in a pair of hands. They were covered in glitter. "Hey! Hey, I'm happy for you. I'm glad you already found someone who might want to spend her life with you."

"Shut up."

"No, really! I just can't wait until you make it official."

"I'm seventeen!"

"I'm patient, I can wait."

His brother's face was redder than ever, but he didn't move. He got to concentrated work on the card for their mother. Fili didn't laugh anymore, just grinned a little at the whole thing. He wouldn't have teased so much if he didn't know his little brother was indeed that serious about the love of his life. Even if he was maybe too young to make such a move right now, give it a few years –it would happen.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the lack of Bagginshield in this one! They start us out in the next chapter, I swear :)


End file.
